Strange Occurrences
by McIrishGirl
Summary: "Annabeth remembers when everything changed: It was the day Percy Jackson walked into Latin Class with a black eye." 'Bad Boy' Percy Jackson runs into some trouble that only Annabeth can help him with. T for now AU a little OOC, all human
1. Chapter 1

Annabeth remembers when everything changed: It was the day Percy Jackson walked into Latin Class with a black eye.

Now normally, most people paid no mind to Percy Jackson. He was one of those people that everyone called Percy Jackson. Not Percy. Not Jackson. Just Percy Jackson. He kept to himself, talking to no one except his cousin Nico, the water polo coach, and occasionally his other cousin Thalia. People said he ran in a gang. They also said that he was at the school on scholarship because his mom slept with the principal. The only thing Annabeth did know for sure was that he was from East St. Louis, which at this school made you an outcast in and of itself. The fact that Percy Jackson avoided most people only added to his…peculiarity. He was – to put it succinctly – the very cute, mysterious boy that was clearly bad news. He had acquired a Bad Boy reputation simply because the rather bland Goode High School needed one.

But Annabeth wasn't like most people. Percy Jackson fascinated her. Since the beginning of the year, she had been keeping casual tabs on him— a study if you will. Through Thalia, her best friend, Annabeth was able to glean some facts from all the fiction. She knew that Percy Jackson lived with his mother and stepfather. Thalia didn't say anything about the stepfather, but she say Percy Jackson was a "Mama's Boy," but Annabeth couldn't quite link "Mama's Boy" and Percy Jackson. But, Thalia also said he was a complete goof; another image Annabeth had issues equating with her understanding of Percy Jackson.

Anyway, Annabeth remembers the day well. It was December 13th , the day before Winter Break. When Percy Jackson walked into Latin, the entire class began murmuring. A black eye only solidified his image as Resident Bad Boy.

"Alright class, settle down. Mr. Jackson, thank you for finally joining us. You may take a seat next to Ms. Chase." Annabeth's heart fluttered a little as Mr. Brunner directed Percy Jackson to sit next to her.

He had a slight blush on his face as he made his way down the aisle in the silence of the classroom. Annabeth had the distinct feeling that Percy Jackson did not enjoy being the center of attention: Something Annabeth found interesting considering he was the star of the water polo team. Most teenage boys revel in that kind of attention, but not Percy Jackson…fascinating.

The sound of his chair scraping the linoleum floor jarred Annabeth from her observations. _ I haven't been staring at him this whole time, have I?_ Annabeth thought as she felt her face heat up. She couldn't help glancing over at him as he sat down. Their eyes met for just a moment before he looked down. She looked forward just as quickly to focus on Mr. Brunner, who was assigning partners for the project on Greco-Roman religion. Annabeth zoned out until she heard her name called.

"Annabeth Chase and," Annabeth tapped her fingers on her desk as Mr. Brunner scanned his list, "Percy Jackson…"

For the first time in her life, Annabeth's brain seemed to shut down. She was speechless.

After what felt like eternity, Annabeth turned her head to look at her partner. With surprise she met Percy Jackson's piercing green eyes.

"So…I guess we're partners, huh?" His voice was surprisingly friendly. Despite his shiner, his green eyes sparkled with good nature. _Up close, he doesn't seem like such a bad boy…_

"Yeah, I guess. So what god or goddess do you want to do our project on?" Annabeth ventured, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking. Annabeth had a clear idea already of who they would be doing the project on, but it was always polite to ask.

"Uh…well, my favorite god is Poseidon…So a project with him would be, ya know, cool."

_Uh oh._ "Oh. Well I was kinda thinking of doing a project on Athena, goddess of wisdom and war strategy. She's my favorite, and I already know a bunch about her."

Percy's eyebrows rose slightly, making him look oddly young. "Oh. Well…I know some stuff about Poseidon too. Like—"

"Yeah, but Athena's better. When she and Poseidon competed, she won."

His eyebrows raised higher, amused surprise on his face. "Well is there anyway we can do both…?"

"I mean, I guess…but I think the project is supposed to be on one god or goddess. There's not enough groups for us each to do two gods." Percy chuckled shaking his head, "What?"

"Nothing," Percy replied easily, still shaking his head slightly. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. He wasn't getting away that easily. "It's just that…I mean, why ask me who I wanted to do for the project if you were going to shut me down anyway?"

"I'm not 'shutting you down.' I was trying to be polite."

"Polite?" Percy scoffed.

Taken aback, Annabeth replied evenly, "I'm just trying to do what's best for the group."

"Okay, well wouldn't a project that we are both interested in be better?" Annabeth didn't reply. Why couldn't he just shut up and let her do the damn project. "God, are you always this stubborn?" Percy asked her incredulously.

Okay, now he was really getting on her nerves. "Yeah, I am. Because I know I'm right. It's not my fault you want to do a stupid god like Poseidon. I mean, what did he invent anyway?"

"Horses." Percy shot back, taking Annabeth by surprise.

"Fine, but horses wouldn't have been important at all in the grand scheme of things if Athena hadn't invented the chariot. So really Poseidon's invention was lame."

"Yeah but there would have been no point for chariots if Poseidon hadn't made horses."

"That doesn't even — ugh, anyway, fine. Why don't we ask Mr. Brunner if we can do a stupid joint project." Annabeth mumbled sullenly.

Percy Jackson looked a little smug as he replied, "Alright, let's. Mr. Brunner?"

Annabeth plotted as Percy asked Mr. Brunner about doing Athena and Poseidon. Of course, Mr. Brunner said yes, he was the coolest teacher ever. Annabeth would just make sure the project stressed how much better Athena was than Poseidon. All he ever did was get grumpy at heroes like Odysseus, and create massive storms. Big whoop.

Upon getting permission from the teacher, Percy turned back to the thoughtful Annabeth with a grin. "Oh wipe that smirk off your face, Jackson. Class is almost over. Give me your number so we can work on this over winter break."

Finally the bell rang. Annabeth gathered her books and walked out of the door with a small smile. So, Percy Jackson was stubborn…


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth pulled the books closer to her body in a futile attempt to cut the bitter sting of the wind and snow. Two days after school got out, the first big winter storm hit St. Louis. Snow was falling by the ton. Annabeth had been in the library maybe an hour and already she was trudging through half a foot of snow to get to her car.

Finally she climbed into the little sedan, thankful she had parked under an overhang. She turned on the car and blasted the heat, hoping to regain feeling in her white fingers.

Stupid Percy Jackson, if it weren't for him, she wouldn't have had to be at the library anyway. But, no! He just had to have their project be on Poseidon too. Ugh! Annabeth had gone to library to pick up books on the stupid sea god, and now she had to drive home in a blizzard. Great! _I can't believe I actually thought he was—_

Her cell phone ringing interrupted Annabeth's internal tirade against a certain green-eyed jock. Speak of the devil!

"Hey, Percy."

"Annabeth?" Percy sounded funny. His voice was thick; not as friendly or happy as it had been in class the other day.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Look, I'm really sorry…I just…I didn't know who else to call…I— I really need a place to stay…"

"You need a place to _stay?_" She was sure she had heard him wrong.

"Yeah, I was— just yeah. Look, if it's not okay, just say so."

"No. No, it's fine. We have a guest room and stuff. I just have to ask my dad. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah… Could you maybe pick me?"

Okay something was definitely wrong. Annabeth quickly found out where he was and drove to meet him, all the while her mind racing to figure out why Percy Jackson would possibly need to stay with her.

* * *

Finally she made out his dark silhouette standing on the corner where he said he'd be. Snow swirled around him. _He must be freezing_, Annabeth thought idly, wondering if he had been standing there since he had called her.

He stepped tentatively toward the car. _He probably doesn't know what my car looks like. _ Annabeth waved at him through her windows, reaching over to open her door.

Taking the hint a very bundled-up Percy got into the car, throwing his small duffle bag in the back. Annabeth watched him carefully. His jacket was pulled up around his cheeks, and he wore a winter hat, both of which covered his face. Finally, succumbing to the blasting heat, Percy took off his hat and partially unzipped his jacket. Annabeth gasped.

The black eye from two days previous looked like it had been split open. A red cut traced the swelling under his eye. His bottom lip was also swollen and split.

"What—?"

Percy's eyes flashed to hers as she began her question. A mixture of defiance, pity and anger flashed briefly before all emotion left his eyes. The blankness scared her. "Never mind…" Annabeth decided to let Percy tell her what happened when he was ready. Curiosity would just bite away at her in the meanwhile. She _hated_ not knowing.

"Thank you…for this. I really appreciate it." Percy's voice was soft. Annabeth could hardly hear it over the sound of the heater.

"Yeah, of course" Annabeth replied, hating how loud and abrupt her voice sounded compared to his.

There was silence— not exactly loaded, but not comfortable either— for a few seconds as Annabeth pulled away from the curb. "So your family was okay with my staying a few days?"

"Yeah, they're fine with it…my dad wasn't exactly thrilled to have a teenage boy under our roof…" Annabeth said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Percy chuckled, "Yeah, I can imagine…plus I'm not exactly looking my most friendly and innocent." He tried to smile before wincing at the pain of his split lip.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll….be fine with it."

"Uh huh"

"I'm serious. They will."

"Suuuuure"

"They will! Once they…. get to know you."

"Once they get to know me?"

"Yeah"

"Do you even 'know' me?" There was definite laughter in Percy's voice.

"Ok, not exactly, but I know you're not as threatening as you look….Or as you pretend to be," Annabeth mumbled the last part.

"What?! I do _not _pretend to be threatening," he sounded quite scandalized.

"Then what's with the whole Bad Boy act at school?

"What Bad Boy act?"

"Oh don't pretend you don't know what people say about you."

"What are you even talking about?" The laughter was back.

"Oh c'mon. You've got that whole from-the-wrong-part-of-town thing, and that whole I-don't-speak-to-anyone thing, and that whole tall, dark and handsome bit."

"A) none of those are 'things' as you call them, I just don't like that many people from Goode – they're just rich little snobs." Annabeth turned to him, affronted. "I didn't mean you. Besides, I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"Yeah but only because we're in a project together."

"That's not why I'm – Look, I'm not good at starting conversations with people I don't know well…especially the kind of kids at Goode. And B) back to that long 'Bad Boy' list… you think I'm handsome?"

Annabeth could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Oh shut up. You must notice how girls stare."

Percy didn't reply. Annabeth looked over to see Percy Jackson blushing. "I guess I'm pretty oblivious, huh?"

"Apparently," she replied with a smile.

They drove in silence for another few minutes, but this one actually comfortable…like maybe they were friends or something weird like that.

"So what are we gonna tell your parents? Somehow I don't think they're gonna exactly like the look of me?" Was that fear she heard in Percy Jackson's voice?

"We'll say you need a place to stay for a few days. And as for liking you…well…just focus on being your most charming or something"

Percy wiggled his eyebrows, "I can do that."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "On second thought, maybe I should do the talking."

That was the first time Annabeth heard Percy Jackson's laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, so Annabeth had lied. Her parents were not all chill with having Percy Jackson come to stay indefinitely. Especially considering that at the time, Annabeth could not offer a solid reason _why_ a strange teenage boy they had never met nor heard of would be living in their house. Hopefully, seeing the specimen for themselves would clarify things…or confuse them.

Annabeth tentatively led Percy into her house, "Hello?" She called. There was a distant, distracted sort of mumbling response from her dad's study as her step mom came from the guest room.

"Hi, sorry, I was just preparing the guest room." A look of surprise and something else flashed briefly across her step-mom's face upon seeing Percy's state, but she quickly masked it in favor of a welcoming smile. "Hi, I'm Julie Chase." She said extending her hand.

"I'm Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you and thanks so much for letting me stay here for a few days."

"Of course, of course. Stay as long as you need to, dear. Annabeth, why don't you show Percy the guest room and help him get…cleaned up." With that her step-mom offered Percy another smile. "I'll start preparing dinner"

Annabeth gave her step-mom's back a sarcastic smile and wave as she walked away. Percy raised his eyebrows at her, questioning. "She can be charming when she wants to be," was Annabeth's only reply as she led the way.

"So here's your room," Annabeth led Percy into the guest room, noticing Julie had put some flowers in a vase on the bedside table. Like Percy Jackson cared about such frivolities. "The bathrooms right there," she said pointing to the opposite side of the room, "Don't worry, you don't have to share with me and my annoying step-brothers…Lucky."

Percy just nodded looking around. He looked like a wonderstruck little boy. Annabeth vaguely wondered what his home was like…clearly something was wrong with it… or someone.

"So why don't you shower and get cleaned up, and then I can help you clean up and dress your…wounds."

"Ok."

Annabeth began to walk out of the room as Percy continued gazing around.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Annabeth's voice caught as she saw the gratefulness in Percy Jackson's eyes. "Of course, Percy. Anytime."

* * *

"What's going on here, Annabeth?"

Shortly after leaving the guest room, her step-mom had called Annabeth into the kitchen.

"Percy needs a place to stay." Really Annabeth had no other response than that…that's all she knew for sure.

"Well clearly, but –" Her step mom stopped for a moment, obviously distressed. Her voice dropped, "should we call the police or social services or something? Clearly something terrible has just happened to that boy."

Annabeth sighed. It wasn't such a crazy idea…but Annabeth worried that might be jumping the gun a bit. "Look, Julie. I'm not even sure what's going on here. All I know is that Percy needs a place to stay. He hasn't exactly…confided in me or anything."

Julie pressed her lips together, clearly displeased at this course of action, or lack there of. "Fine, we'll wait."

"We'll wait."

* * *

Annabeth walked up to her room, thinking. Thalia, her best friend, was also Percy Jackson cousin…should she tell Thalia that he's staying here? Does Percy even want people know to where he is? There must be a reason he called her versus his Nico or Thalia…

She dropped the library books on her bed. She couldn't believe she had been at the library only an hour ago…it felt like her whole world had changed since then. _Percy Jackson was staying in her house_.

Annabeth absentmindedly got her computer, her fingers automatically bringing her to Facebook. She checked her notifications in a daze, not absorbing anything she read or replied.

_Percy Jackson_. Annabeth couldn't keep her mind off of him. What an enigma. At school, to everybody else he was indifferent, if not standoff-ish. He seemed so dark. That's why everyone found him so attractive; he gave off that air of brooding and danger, but then when you talked to him… He smiled, and laughed, and listened…How was it even possible for someone to have such green eyes? Did he get them from his mom? His dad? Yeah and what about his dad? Where was he? And if he's not around what's the deal with the stepfather? Was he the one that –

"Annabeth?"

There was a timid knock on her door as Percy Jackson's head timidly peered round the door.

"Hey." Annabeth logged off the Internet as she looked at him. His hair was wet. How long had she been zoned out thinking about him?

He tentatively walked into her room, his eyes quickly darting around. "Could you help me…?" He half-heartedly offered her a box of Band-Aids and some Neosporin.

"Yeah yeah. Uh…sit on the bed." She said taking the supplies, and dragging her desk chair to the edge of the bed.

Percy perched himself on the side of the mattress, offering the side of his face with the black eye.

Now that everything had been cleaned, Annabeth could clearly see where the skin had split under his eye, creating sort of a c-shape around his eye.

"Lean forward a little bit," Annabeth said softly as she put some Neosporin on her finger. Very gently, she began applying it to his face. She could feel his eyes watching her. "Sorry if this hurts…"

"It doesn't," Percy replied equally softly. He smiled slightly.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…"

"What?"

"You just make a really cute face when you're concentrating." Percy's cheeks reddened slightly as Annabeth felt her face heat up.

"Shut up," she said shaking her head, for lack of a better response. Percy chuckled. She was done with his eye. "Turn your face forward so I can do your lip."

Now their faces were just inches apart. Annabeth could feel his breath on her face. It took all of her concentration not to look into his eyes. She gently traced the cut on his lip with Neosporin. "There," she said when she was done, looking up into his eyes. That was her mistake.

Suddenly the proximity of his lips was overwhelming. Her hand still rested lightly on his jaw. His green eyes were deadly serious, boring into hers. She heard his breathing hitch – or was it hers? Was it her imagination or did their faces suddenly get closer? Now there was a slight question in his eyes, though he didn't break the eye contact. Annabeth had no idea what her eyes were saying. He leaned in a little further…

"Annabeth! Percy! Boys! Dinner!" Julies voice broke the spell. The two snapped apart, each mumbling apologies or nonsense; really hoping the other wasn't listening to anything they said.

Percy ran his hand through his wet hair. It was shaking slightly. He looked up at her, with a sideways smile, "So, dinner?"

Percy Jackson was going to be the death of her.


	4. Chapter 4

The two of them awkwardly walked down stairs, sure to keep a sizable distance between them. Annabeth felt very strange – hot, flustered, out of control. It was a new feeling – one she loved and hated at the same time.

Dinner was already on the table, a big pot in the middle – mac 'n' cheese. Comfort food, of course. Annabeth shouldn't have expected anything less from her step mom, given the condition of Percy's face.

Her dad came bumbling out of his office, cleaning his glasses on a little rag. Upon seeing Percy he stopped short a moment, returning his spectacles to his face. "Ah so you must be Annabeth's friend."

"Yeah – yes, sir. I'm Percy Jackson," he said, extending his hand to her father, "thank you so much for your hospitality."

Julie came out of nowhere, "Of course, darling. Have a seat, have a seat," ushering him into on of the chairs. Annabeth sat across from him – as far away as possible. The last thing she needed was another weird…encounter to occur in front of her parents. She couldn't trust herself around him.

"Matthew, Bobby!" Annabeth's step mom shouted as she loaded Percy's plate with food. "Oh the biscuits! Frederick, honey? Could you grab them from the oven?" Mr. Chase bumbled back out of the room and into the kitchen.

Meanwhile Julie continued piling food onto Percy's plate, more than he could possibly eat in a week. He caught Annabeth's eyes, smirking. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at his smile, but outwardly she just smiled and shook her head at her step-mother's antics.

Her step-brothers came running to the table, a flurry of color and energy, talking a mile a minute.

"Hey Annabeth look what I built!" Bobby offered his Lego plane to her.

"Who are you?" Matthew asked Percy.

"Yeah, who are you?" Twins, what are ya gonna do?

"How old are you?"

"What's your name?"

All the sudden both of their eyes lit up, grinning, as they both asked, "Are you Annabeth's boyfriend?"

"Boys," Julie cut the interrogation short, hopefully before anyone could notice Percy and Annabeth's wild blushing, "Sit down. This is Percy. He's Annabeth's _friend,_" Was it just Annabeth, or did she shoot her a look when she said the word 'friend?' "And he's going to be staying with us for a few days. He'll be in the guest room, so I want you boys staying out of there, understand?"

Both boys nodded as they climbed into their chairs, looking semi-abashed.

Ah family dinners. Annabeth could only guess the humiliation that would ensue.

* * *

"Your family's pretty awesome, ya know?" Percy said as the two of them washed the dishes.

"If by 'awesome' you mean completely dysfunctional, then yes, my family is pretty awesome." Annabeth retorted as she scraped a plate clean.

Percy laughed. "No, seriously. You're family is pretty cool. Your brothers are hilarious – but I can see how they could get annoying." Percy added, seeing the look Annabeth had shot him.

"You have no idea."

"No I don't," Percy said quietly, scrubbing the big pot. Annabeth suddenly felt very awkward.

"…You don't have any siblings or anything?"

"Nope," Percy replied, his half-smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Only child here… It kinda sucks."

"Really? I always thought I would've liked… I dunno." Annabeth rarely found herself so inarticulate. "I was an only child before my dad got remarried to Julie…I guess I look back at those as, like, the glory days or something."

Percy gave her a sideways look – not skeptical, just curious. "When did your dad and Julie get married?"

"When I was 5…And I guess, after that I always kind of felt like an outsider…ya know?" She looked at Percy, praying that he understood what she was trying to say…though even she wasn't sure what that was.

"Yeah I felt the same way when my mom married Gabe…things kind of went down hill from there…" Percy's face darkened for a moment, before he shook his head, expelling the dark thoughts. "But what's the deal with you and your step mom? …She seems pretty nice….?"

"Like I said, she can be nice when she wants to be…" Annabeth stopped, to gather her thoughts. Percy just waited patiently, gently taking the now-scraped plate from her hands. "When Julie married my father…I felt like she resented me, or something, simply because I was a vestige of my father's love for my mother. And immediately after they got married she wanted to 'start a family'… Like my dad and I weren't enough to make a family…Like she needed to have a 'real' family with kids that were hers…I dunno, maybe I'm crazy."

"That's not crazy." She looked up at the total certainty in Percy's voice. He was looking Annabeth straight in the eye. "That's not crazy, Annabeth. Don't second-guess yourself. There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling."

Percy's conviction both reassured her and scared her. On one hand his conviction felt nice – she felt validated in a sense. She had never really, fully shared those thoughts and feelings with anyone, and Percy's acceptance felt good… But at the same time, Percy's conviction was…intimidating. She felt her face heat up under the scrutiny of his intense stare.

Quite unlike herself, Annabeth looked away first, feeling flustered (again), and out of control (again). Her hands shook slightly as she picked up another plate. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy shake his head slightly and resume scrubbing the plate.

So...Percy Jackson was a good listener…And was definitely gonna be the death of her.

* * *

"So we should probably get started on this thing," Percy didn't exactly sound thrilled by the idea of doing schoolwork during break.

And frankly, for once, neither was Annabeth. It had been three days since her little…whatever with Percy Jackson, and Annabeth was having a lot of trouble keeping her mind from drifting to more…interesting things to do with him.

"Yeah, I guess. I pulled some books from the library a few days ago" _right before you called and changed everything_ "that should be helpful for us."

"Ok cool," sounding as if it were anything but _cool. _Percy picked up the book like it was something foul. He flipped through it gingerly. His strong fingers were surprisingly gentle on the paper.

Annabeth felt herself smile slightly. He was making the cutest face. His eyebrows were all scrunched up, with his lips pursed and eyes squinting. His bruises were now sort of yellowy-brown, and his lip had healed remarkable fast. The mark was only a pink line now, creating a sexy scar that drew her eyes straight to his lips…

Suddenly green eyes met grey, and Annabeth looked down at her book, feeling her cheeks flush. So much for the two of them pretending that little…incident in her bedroom had never happened. She could feel his eyes on her burning face, focusing all of her energy on trying to actually read the words on the page.

Finally his eyes left her and she could relax.

* * *

"God I feel like we're been reading forever," Percy griped, uncrossing his legs and spreading out on her bedroom floor.

"It's been like half an hour…"

"Yeah well it feels like longer than that. I hate reading."

"How can you hate reading?!" Annabeth was scandalized.

"I have ADHD and dyslexia…readings hard…and I get distracted easily," Percy smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah but books have so much good information in them. I love learning new things."

"Of course, you do," Percy mumbled under his breath. Annabeth chose to ignore him.

"Besides, I have dyslexia too. Its just a matter of mind over matter."

"You have dyslexia too?"

Annabeth looked down, slightly embarrassed. She didn't like people to know she was dyslexic. She was just as good, if not smarter, than everyone else – she didn't need pity.

Percy laughed.

Annabeth's head shot up, ready to snap something at his impertinence, but the look on his face stopped him. He was looking at her in disbelief and wonder.

"What?"

"I just never would've guessed that you were dyslexic…" Now he was looking down, blushing, "You're so smart, and always seem to have done the reading in school and stuff," _he noticed her in school? _"I feel like I'm always such a mess…It's just really amazing that you can, I dunno, learn so normally. Hell, better than normally, you're like the smartest person I know."

When he finished, he glanced up, blushing with a look so earnest…

Before Annabeth knew what she was doing she leaned forward, cupped his cheek, and kissed him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delay, I've been really busy lately with a little writer's block, classes and reading the Mark of Athena (the end = the worst cliffhanger RR has ever done). Any way, hope you like:**

"So anyway did you find out anything good?" Annabeth kept her voice level, as she leaned away from Percy Jackson - wildly blushing, but trying to place it cool or something.

"Huh – What?"

Annabeth laughed. The bewildered look on Percy's face was hilarious. Or should she have been insulted? She wasn't sure, so she laughed. "On Poseidon and Athena… Did you find anything interesting for our presentation?"

"Our presentation? Oh yeah!" Percy seemed to gather himself. "I mean its nothing new, but we can talk a little bit about how, ya know, Poseidon and Athena didn't get along and stuff, but how actually if you look at some of the stuff they've done – like the, uh, chariot and the horse and stuff – they actually compliment each other, and stuff." All this while avoiding making eye contact at all cost.

"Yeah sounds good." Annabeth wasn't normally so… go with the flow about school projects, but she must've been on an adrenaline rush or something. She didn't normally do anything so…riské.

"So…um…how do we wanna present it all?"

Annabeth really did not feel like doing schoolwork. Why was Percy still asking about it, and not kissing her?

Before Annabeth could really register where that thought came from a phone buzzed.

Both frantically searched the bed comforter for their phones. Finally Annabeth found hers, though the comforter had done its best to eat it. It was dark.

She looked up to find Percy just staring at his buzzing phone with a joint look of anger, defiance and sadness all rolled into one.

After a few seconds, he silenced the phone and returned it to his pocket. Annabeth knew she shouldn't ask but…"Who was that?"

Percy looked at her, evaluating whether or not he wanted to share with her. "My mom… Probably wondering where I am and stuff…"

"Oh…yeah."

Once again Percy Jackson had managed to render her a bubbling idiot, unable to say anything constructive.

"We're really close, ya know?" Annabeth looked up to find Percy looking at her, ready to share. "My mom and I. It's always been her and I against the world…until Gabe came along…" Percy's facial expression darkened as he finished the sentence.

"You're step dad."

"Yeah…" A look of anger passed Percy's face, "I don't even know why my mom is with him. He's just a fat, lazy asshole who does nothing, and treats my mom and I like shit. And my mom is the best person in the world." Percy said this with such conviction, Annabeth pictured his mom wearing a laurel and sash that said 'Best Person in the World.' "She deserves so much better than him. Why would she stay with him?"

Percy looked up at her, imploring. "I…don't know." Annabeth wasn't sure if she'd ever said those words before. But then again, she seemed to already have had a lot of firsts with Percy Jackson.

Percy laid back on her bed, clearly distraught.

"Why don't we just leave this work for tomorrow…?" Annabeth was desperate to return the smile to his face.

It worked. Percy sat up with a goofy grin on his face.

"Really?"

Such simple pleasures. "Yeah"

His smile widened. "What should we do instead?"

Annabeth could think of something. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmmm…" Percy put on an exaggerated thinking face. He glanced out the window; it was still snowing, but lighter now. "We should challenge your brothers to a snow ball fight!"

The relish Percy put in the idea stopped Annabeth from saying how dumb that sounded. "Sure…"

Percy must've heard the hesitation in her voice because he grabbed her forearm, saying "C'mon, it'll be fun" While dragging her downstairs to get Matt and Bobby.

* * *

Annabeth and Percy were barricaded behind their 'fort,' huddling from the onslaught that was the twins.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Annabeth said as snowballs spattered of their shelter and over their heads.

"No you didn't."

"Well I meant to."

Percy laughed for some reason. Annabeth wacked him on the arm. He grabbed his arm, cradling it, laughing even harder. She wacked him again. "Oh!" He exclaimed, though Annabeth knew he didn't really mean it, because he was _still_ laughing for some crazy reason.

Percy caught Annabeth's death stare. His laughing quieted, "Sorry. This whole thing is just hilarious. We're huddled back here, and your brothers are wailing on us – that's funny." Annabeth forgot to laugh. "Oh c'mon, Annabeth! It's a little funny."

Annabeth just continued death glaring him.

"What?!"

"We're back here, cowering at my _ten-year old_ brothers' mercy…and I'm cold."

"Well that's easy to fix." Before Annabeth could ask what he meant by that, _he_ cupped her neck and kissed _her_.

"So what do you say we do an all out siege on 'em?" Percy said, keeping his face inches from hers, still holding her neck.

She could only nod.

"Cool," Percy said, quickly kissing her again before standing up and charging her brothers' fort. Annabeth followed him into battle, for the final all out siege, grinning.

Well that did certainly warm her up.

**yeah sorry this one was a little short. i'm not entirely sure how to get the story where I want it to go quite yet.**


End file.
